On Reddit, a man claimed that his brother, who was living in a house the man owns as part of a special deal, stopped maintaining the home and was late in paying rent, so the man secretly sold the house. Now, his brother’s entire family is getting evicted.
“A few years ago, my brother needed help. I let him move into one of my rental properties, and we did it all legally. Lease agreement and everything. I was renting to him at a breakeven point,” the man wrote, adding that they “agreed that he was responsible for all the maintenance of the house and yard.”
The man’s brother, who has four children, claimed they needed a bigger water tank for their large family.
“He wants a new one. I told him to go ahead. He then proceeded to take the cost of the hot water tank and installation out of that month’s rent. I reminded him of our agreement,” the man shared.
However, his brother was offended and told him he would no longer make “improvements to my property for free.” When the man explained it was his brother’s choice to install a new water tank, a “big argument” ensued and the brother refused to do any maintenance on the home as a form of silent protest.
Then, the man’s brother started to fall behind on his rent. “I tried talking to him, but he said he was low on cash,” the man explained.
Eventually, the man sold the house since it was becoming a problem. He didn’t “even need to list the house to have it sold in less than a week.”
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The man revealed that his brother only found out about the house’s sale when he was served an official eviction notice.
Furious, the brother claimed he intended to buy the house. “I said that he was having trouble making rent. How was he going to qualify for a mortgage?” the man wrote.
Since the house-related drama, the man’s brother has been bad-mouthing him to their family. And while the man feels “bad” for his sister-in-law and his brother’s kids, he’s not willing to “spend the rest of my life subsidizing his”
Readers were divided in the comments section on Reddit.
“Why should you lose money to help him out? It was good of you to rent to him at a discount, and he crapped on you for your hospitality,” one person commented.
“I agree with this except for the ‘served’ eviction notice, which will be legally tied to his brother’s name now while looking for another place. Was there no less-nuclear way to notify him?” another asked.
“Everyone loves a revenge story, but there are children whose lives are made worse because the OP [original poster] decided not to notify his brother he was selling up. In moving house, two months vs. one month’s notice is a big deal,” someone else commented.
“He didn’t turn them out. The new owner did. Their choice to let them stay. Blaming the OP is wrong. He sold the house. Not kicked the family out,” another reasoned.
“[You’re the a–hole] for not giving him a heads up. Yeah, he’s an a–hole too for trying to stiff you on rent, but holy s–t, why would you not tell your brother they’re about to be homeless,” someone else commented.